Alexander Anderson

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Birdman was the toast of the 87th Oscars on Sunday (22Feb15), earning Best Picture as Eddie Redmayne and Julianne Moore also celebrated big wins at Hollywood's big night.
Birdman filmmaker Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu was named Best Director, while he also claimed Best Original Screenplay and Emmanuel Lubezki received the Best Cinematography award. Redmayne couldn't contain his excitement as he collected the Best Actor prize for his Stephen Hawking biopic The Theory of Everything, and Julianne Moore scored Best Actress for Still Alice, while fellow awards season favourites and first-time nominees J.K. Simmons (Whiplash) and Patricia Arquette (Boyhood) walked away with the best supporting acting prizes.
Wes Anderson also had reason to celebrate as The Grand Budapest Hotel, which tied with Birdman for the most nominations with nine nods apiece, scored four titles, including Best Original Score for Alexandre Desplat. Each of the nominations for Best Original Song were performed, but it was John Legend and Common's powerful rendition of Selma track "Glory" which left actors David Oyelowo and Chris Pine in tears at Los Angeles' Dolby Theatre as the audience gave the musicians a standing ovation. "Glory" went on to win the category. Meanwhile, Jennifer Hudson honoured the stars lost in the past year by singing "I Can't Let Go" as part of the In Memoriam segment, and Lady Gaga helped to celebrate the 50th anniversary of Oscar-winning movie The Sound of Music with an impressive medley of hits from the Dame Julie Andrews musical, including Edelweiss, Climb Ev'ry Mountain and the title song.
Ceremony host Neil Patrick Harris also showed off his vocals by opening the 2015 prizegiving with a comedic song and dance number with Anna Kendrick and actor/rocker Jack Black.
The full list of winners at the 2015 Oscars is:
Best Motion Picture of the Year: Birdman
Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role: Eddie Redmayne, The Theory of Everything
Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role: Julianne Moore, Still Alice
Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role: J.K. Simmons, Whiplash
Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role: Patricia Arquette, Boyhood
Best Achievement in Directing: Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu, Birdman
Best Writing, Original Screenplay: Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu, Nicolas Giacobone, Alexander Dinelaris, Jr. and Armando Bo, Birdman
Best Writing, Adapted Screenplay: Graham Moore, The Imitation Game
Best Foreign Language Film of the Year: Ida (Poland)
Best Animated Feature Film: Big Hero 6 Best Documentary, Feature: Citizenfour
Best Documentary, Short Subject: Crisis Hotline: Veterans Press 1
Best Short Film, Animated: Feast Best Short Film, Live Action: The Phone Call
Best Achievement in Music Written for Motion Pictures, Original Song: "Glory" from Selma, by John Legend and Common
Best Achievement in Music Written for Motion Pictures, Original Score: Alexandre Desplat, The Grand Budapest Hotel
Best Achievement in Cinematography: Emmanuel Lubezki, Birdman
Best Achievement in Film Editing: Tom Cross, Whiplash
Best Achievement in Costume Design: Milena Canonero, The Grand Budapest Hotel
Best Achievement in Production Design: Adam Stockhausen and Anna Pinnock, The Grand Budapest Hotel
Best Achievement in Makeup and Hairstyling: Frances Hannon and Mark Coulier, The Grand Budapest Hotel
Best Achievement in Visual Effects: Interstellar Best Achievement in Sound Editing: American Sniper
Best Achievement in Sound Mixing: Whiplash
Academy Honorary Awards: Jean-Claude Carriere Hayao Miyazaki Maureen O'Hara Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award: Harry Belafonte.

Oscar-nominated civil rights drama Selma and U.S. TV comedy Black-Ish were among the big winners at the 2015 NAACP Image Awards on Friday (06Feb15). The Martin Luther King, Jr. biopic earned director Ava DuVernay the Outstanding Motion Picture prize, while her leading man David Oyelowo took home the best actor honour at the Los Angeles ceremony.
There were also prizes for Selma supporting actors Common and Carmen Ejogo, who portrayed King, Jr.'s wife, Coretta.
Taraji P. Henson was a double winner, walking away as best movie actress for thriller No Good Deed and earning the Entertainer of the Year title.
In the TV categories, Black-ish dominated the comedy section, with event host Anthony Anderson and his onscreen wife Tracee Ellis Ross scoring the top acting accolades, while co-stars Laurence Fishburne and Yara Shahidi won the supporting honours. The programme was also named Outstanding Comedy Series.
Shonda Rhimes' hit shows also emerged victorious, with How to Get Away with Murder landing Outstanding Drama Series and Outstanding Actress in a Drama Series for Viola Davis, and Scandal's Joe Morton and Khandi Alexander earning the supporting acting titles.
Meanwhile, in the music categories, Pharrell Williams was named Outstanding Male Artist and Beyonce took home the female equivalent, as Sam Smith and Mary J. Blige claimed the Outstanding Duo, Group or Collaboration prize for their hit song Stay With Me.
John Legend's You & I (Nobody in the World) was awarded Outstanding Music Video and new mum Alicia Keys scored Outstanding Song for We Are Here.
Music mogul Clive Davis received the Vanguard Award, in recognition of his work regarding racial and social issues and director Spike Lee was presented with the NAACP President's Award, which celebrates those who have combined career success and public service.
The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) Image Awards celebrates diversity in film, TV, music and literature.

The Grand Budapest Hotel emerged as the top contender for the British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) Film Awards on Friday (09Jan15). The oddball comedy, starring Ralph Fiennes, lead the charge with 11 nominations as the shortlist was announced by the ceremony's host Stephen Fry and Hunger Games star Sam Claflin in London.
The Theory of Everything and Birdman closely followed with ten nominations, and all three movies will go head-to-head for the coveted Best Film prize, alongside The Imitation Game and Boyhood, which both received a host of nods.
The Grand Budapest Hotel also picked up a Leading Actor nomination for Fiennes, Director and Original Screenplay nods for Wes Anderson, and mentions in multiple technical categories including Music, Costume Design and Cinematography.
The Theory of Everything will also compete in the Best Leading Actor category for Eddie Redmayne, leading actress for Felicity Jones, Best British Film, Best Director for James Marsh, and Best Adapted Screenplay, while Birdman's Michael Keaton received another awards season nomination. The film's director Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu earned a nod, as did supporting actors Edward Norton and Emma Stone.
The lead actor category is completed by Jake Gyllenhaal (Nightcrawler) and Benedict Cumberbatch (The Imitation Game), while other contenders for the female counterpart include Reese Witherspoon (Wild), Rosamund Pike (Gone Girl), Julianne Moore (Still Alice) and Amy Adams (Big Eyes).
Further nominees for best director are Richard Linklater for Boyhood and Damien Chazelle for Whiplash.
Pride, Paddington, The Imitation Game, '71 and Under the Skin will compete for the Outstanding British Film title.
The winners will be announced at London's Royal Opera House on 08 February (15). The show will be hosted by Fry.
The main nominees are as follows:
Best Film:
The Theory of Everything
The Imitation Game
Birdman
The Grand Budapest Hotel
Boyhood
Best Leading Actor:
Michael Keaton - Birdman
Jake Gyllenhaal - Nightcrawler
Eddie Redmayne - The Theory of Everything
Benedict Cumberbatch - The Imitation Game
Ralph Fiennes - The Grand Budapest Hotel
Best Leading Actress:
Felicity Jones - The Theory of Everything
Julianne Moore - Still Alice
Rosamund Pike - Gone Girl
Reese Witherspoon - Wild
Amy Adams - Big Eyes
Best Supporting Actor:
Steve Carell - Foxcatcher
Ethan Hawke - Boyhood
Edward Norton - Birdman
Mark Ruffalo - Foxcatcher
J.K. Simmons - Whiplash
Best Supporting Actress:
Patricia Arquette - Boyhood
Keira Knightley - The Imitation Game
Emma Stone - Birdman
Rene Russo - Nightcrawler
Imelda Staunton - Pride
EE Rising Star Award:
Jack O'Connell
Margot Robbie
Shailene Woodley
Miles Teller
Gugu Mbatha-Raw
Outstanding British Film:
The Theory of Everything
The Imitation Game
'71
Paddington
Pride
Under the Skin
Best Director:
Wes Anderson - The Grand Budapest Hotel
Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu - Birdman
Richard Linklater - Boyhood
James Marsh - The Theory of Everything
Damien Chazelle - Whiplash
Best Original Screenplay:
Richard Linklater - Boyhood
Wes Anderson - The Grand Budapest Hotel
Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu, Nicolas Giacobone, Alexander Dinelaris, Jr. and Armando Bo - Birdman
Damien Chazelle - Whiplash
Dan Gilroy - Nightcrawler
Best Adapted Screenplay:
Gillian Flynn - Gone Girl
Graham Moore - The Imitation Game
Jason Hall - American Sniper
Paul King - Paddington
Anthony McCarten - The Theory of Everything
Best Animated Film:
Big Hero 6
The Boxtrolls
The Lego Movie

We opened 2014 with heated anticipation for the next great turns from Wes Anderson, Richard Linklater, Christopher Nolan, Lars von Trier, and a number of other cinematic vets. But the year has also treated us to a hefty sum of noteworthy first timers. We've caught a wide variety of debut attempts over the course of these past eight months, with enough qualitative range to incite reactions from "The next Hitchcock!" to "I might be able to get you a gig with my friend who does wedding videos, but don't tell him you know me." Here's a quick rundown of the debut flicks we've seen so far in '14, from great to terrible.
THE GREAT
Tribeca Film via Everett Collection
Palo AltoDirector: Gia CoppolaWhy we're already on her bandwagon: In the vein of her aunt Sofia, the young Gia Coppola showcases an indubitable understanding of upper class ennui.
Hide Your Smiling Faces Director: Daniel Patrick CarboneWhy we're already on his bandwagon: Carbone's primarily wordless coming-of-age drama shows off his patience and pensiveness, not to mention his ability to skirt the self-importance than many films of Smiling Faces' ilk seem to bear.
Obvious ChildDirector: Gillian RobespierreWhy we're already on her bandwagon: It's funny as hell even within the margins of genre tradition, and sweet without succumbing to Hollywood sugar.
THE VERY GOOD
Zeitgeist Films
Zero MotivationDirector: Talya LavieShows promise of: A knack for absurdist humor and grounded character relationships alike.
It Felt Like LoveDirector: Eliza HittmanShows promise of: A uniquely keen empathy for how young people conduct themselves, both internally and among one another.
THE GOOD
Tribeca Film via Everett Collection
The Bachelor Weekend/The StagDirector: John ButlerShows potential in: A good sense of humor, especially when it veers closer to Apatow than McKay.
Are You HereDirector: Matthew WeinerShows potential in: Social commentary through character construction, but Weiner needs a better handle on cinematic pacing.
The One I LoveDirector: Charlie McDowellShows potential in: Big ideas, and the presentation thereof, but lacks in the ultimate execution of where they can and ought to go.
THE SO-SO
Drafthouse Films via Everett Collection
Beneath the Harvest SkyDirector: Aron Gaudet and Gita PullapillyThere's room for improvement regarding: A sharper attention to the characters and story, which occasionally fade out of focus at the behest of a vivid North Maine setting.
LullabyDirector: Andrew LevitasThere's room for improvement regarding The acerbic but knowing humor shared by the central family members, in favor of the intense melodrama that the film feels impelled to stuff itself with from time to time.
Cheap ThrillsDirector: E.L. KatzThere's room for improvement regarding: The energy set toward invoking a truly interesting story or course of events, rather than the allowance of the "weird" or "dangerous" to take the wheel altogether like it does here.
TammyDirector: Ben FalconeThere's room for improvement regarding: An authentic commitment to the sincerity in the characters, in place of wild and wacky antics like jetski crashes and deer mouth-to-mouth... though these were probably studio notes, we have to assume.
THE BAD
Music Box Films via Everett Collection
Winter’s TaleDirector: Akiva GoldsmanWhat we hope he gets right next time: A more defined storytelling goal. While some of the film's elements worked in a vaccuum, Goldsman had been gestating a Winter's Tale adaptation for years, coming out the gate with something that is oddly both convoluted and terribly narrow.
MaleficentDirector: Robert StrombergWhat we hope he gets right next time: More Angie.
A Coffee in Berlin/Oh BoyDirector: Jan Ole GersterWhat we hope he gets right next time: A better understanding of the fine line between cheeky and irritating.
Earth to EchoDirector: Dave GreenWhat we hope he gets right next time: Ditch the essentially pointless found footage antic and hone in on the fleeting spirit of the kids.
THE WORST
Vertical Entertainment
TranscendenceDirector: Wally PfisterWhy we're nervous for his future: Pfister is a skilled cinematographer, but his grasp of character, story, and ambiance seem dangerously absent.
Goodbye to All ThatDirector: Angus McLachlanWhy we're nervous for his future: Ambitions seem to fall shy of originality, settling instead on retreading the same indie dramedy territory we've seen time and time again, but without any discernible charisma.
If I StayDirector: R.J. CutlerWhy we're nervous for his future: A dastardly aesthetic, paper-thin characters, a devoted marriage to teen movie cliches, and a potentially dangerous mentality driving the story altogether do not bode well for Cutler's future behind the camera.
Behaving BadlyDirector: Tim GarrickWhy we're nervous for his future: Because he thought this horrible thing could work.
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Veteran Scarface star Steven Bauer is reportedly dating a teenager 39 years his junior. The actor, 57, made his red carpet debut with 18-year-old Lyda Loudon at the Hollywood premiere of Woody Allen's new film Magic in the Moonlight last week (21Jul14) and editors at UsMagazine.com claim they are a couple.
Bauer used to be married to Melanie Griffith, the mother of his 28-year-old child Alexander, while he also has a boy named Dylan, who was born in 1990, from his second marriage to actress Ingrid Anderson.

Pop star Lorde turned bridesmaid after a concert in Las Vegas on Tuesday (15Apr14) when one of her friends tied the knot in Sin City. The Royals hitmaker, 17, headed to the Little White Wedding Chapel hours after a gig at the Cosmopolitan resort to be part of her pal's 'quickie' wedding ceremony.
She shared a photo of herself with the bride and another bridesmaid on Instagram.com, and it appears Lorde had no time to change after her gig - she posed wearing what has become one of her signature stage looks - a white shirt, black pants and a long, black blazer.
The chapel has a history with celebrities - Frank Sinatra wed Mia Farrow there and Bruce Willis and Demi Moore exchanged vows there, while Paul Newman, Judy Garland, Michael Jordan and Pamela Anderson also walked down the aisle at A Little White Wedding Chapel, and Britney Spears famously wed Jason Allen Alexander there in 2004, only to have the union annulled 55 hours later.

DreamWorks
For the bulk of every Rocky and Bullwinkle episode, moose and squirrel would engage in high concept escapades that satirized geopolitics, contemporary cinema, and the very fabrics of the human condition. With all of that to work with, there's no excuse for why the pair and their Soviet nemeses haven't gotten a decent movie adaptation. But the ingenious Mr. Peabody and his faithful boy Sherman are another story, intercut between Rocky and Bullwinkle segments to teach kids brief history lessons and toss in a nearly lethal dose of puns. Their stories and relationship were much simpler, which means that bringing their shtick to the big screen would entail a lot more invention — always risky when you're dealing with precious material.
For the most part, Mr. Peabody &amp; Sherman handles the regeneration of its heroes aptly, allowing for emotionally substance in their unique father-son relationship and all the difficulties inherent therein. The story is no subtle metaphor for the difficulties surrounding gay adoption, with society decreeing that a dog, no matter how hyper-intelligent, cannot be a suitable father. The central plot has Peabody hosting a party for a disapproving child services agent and the parents of a young girl with whom 7-year-old Sherman had a schoolyard spat, all in order to prove himself a suitable dad. Of course, the WABAC comes into play when the tots take it for a spin, forcing Peabody to rush to their rescue.
Getting down to personals, we also see the left brain-heavy Peabody struggle with being father Sherman deserves. The bulk of the emotional marks are hit as we learn just how much Peabody cares for Sherman, and just how hard it has been to accept that his only family is growing up and changing.
DreamWorks
But more successful than the new is the film's handling of the old — the material that Peabody and Sherman purists will adore. They travel back in time via the WABAC Machine to Ancient Egypt, the Renaissance, and the Trojan War, and 18th Century France, explaining the cultural backdrop and historical significance of the settings and characters they happen upon, all with that irreverent (but no longer racist) flare that the old cartoons enjoyed. And oh... the puns.
Mr. Peabody &amp; Sherman is a f**king treasure trove of some of the most amazingly bad puns in recent cinema. This effort alone will leave you in awe.
The film does unravel in its final act, bringing the science-fiction of time travel a little too close to the forefront and dropping the ball on a good deal of its emotional groundwork. What seemed to be substantial building blocks do not pay off in the way we might, as scholars of animated family cinema, have anticipated, leaving the movie with an unfinished feeling.
But all in all, it's a bright, compassionate, reasonably educational, and occasionally funny if not altogether worthy tribute to an old favorite. And since we don't have our own WABAC machine to return to a time of regularly scheduled Peabody and Sherman cartoons, this will do okay for now.
If nothing else, it's worth your time for the puns.
3/5
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Lions Gate via Everett Collection
When we last left our heroes, they had conquered all opponents in the 74th Annual Hunger Games, returned home to their newly refurbished living quarters in District 12, and fallen haplessly to the cannibalism of PTSD. And now we're back! Hitching our wagons once again to laconic Katniss Everdeen and her sweet-natured, just-for-the-camera boyfriend Peeta Mellark as they gear up for a second go at the Capitol's killing fields.
But hold your horses — there's a good hour and a half before we step back into the arena. However, the time spent with Katniss and Peeta before the announcement that they'll be competing again for the ceremonial Quarter Quell does not drag. In fact, it's got some of the film franchise's most interesting commentary about celebrity, reality television, and the media so far, well outweighing the merit of The Hunger Games' satire on the subject matter by having Katniss struggle with her responsibilities as Panem's idol. Does she abide by the command of status quo, delighting in the public's applause for her and keeping them complacently saturated with her smiles and curtsies? Or does Katniss hold three fingers high in opposition to the machine into which she has been thrown? It's a quarrel that the real Jennifer Lawrence would handle with a castigation of the media and a joke about sandwiches, or something... but her stakes are, admittedly, much lower. Harvey Weinstein isn't threatening to kill her secret boyfriend.
Through this chapter, Katniss also grapples with a more personal warfare: her devotion to Gale (despite her inability to commit to the idea of love) and her family, her complicated, moralistic affection for Peeta, her remorse over losing Rue, and her agonizing desire to flee the eye of the public and the Capitol. Oftentimes, Katniss' depression and guilty conscience transcends the bounds of sappy. Her soap opera scenes with a soot-covered Gale really push the limits, saved if only by the undeniable grace and charisma of star Lawrence at every step along the way of this film. So it's sappy, but never too sappy.
In fact, Catching Fire is a masterpiece of pushing limits as far as they'll extend before the point of diminishing returns. Director Francis Lawrence maintains an ambiance that lends to emotional investment but never imposes too much realism as to drip into territories of grit. All of Catching Fire lives in a dreamlike state, a stark contrast to Hunger Games' guttural, grimacing quality that robbed it of the life force Suzanne Collins pumped into her first novel.
Once we get to the thunderdome, our engines are effectively revved for the "fun part." Katniss, Peeta, and their array of allies and enemies traverse a nightmare course that seems perfectly suited for a videogame spin-off. At this point, we've spent just enough time with the secondary characters to grow a bit fond of them — deliberately obnoxious Finnick, jarringly provocative Johanna, offbeat geeks Beedee and Wiress — but not quite enough to dissolve the mystery surrounding any of them or their true intentions (which become more and more enigmatic as the film progresses). We only need adhere to Katniss and Peeta once tossed in the pit of doom that is the 75th Hunger Games arena, but finding real characters in the other tributes makes for a far more fun round of extreme manhunt.
But Catching Fire doesn't vie for anything particularly grand. It entertains and engages, having fun with and anchoring weight to its characters and circumstances, but stays within the expected confines of what a Hunger Games movie can be. It's a good one, but without shooting for succinctly interesting or surprising work with Katniss and her relationships or taking a stab at anything but the obvious in terms of sending up the militant tyrannical autocracy, it never even closes in on the possibility of being a great one.
3.5/5
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